Tunde Adeleke (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496826633
- eISBN:
- 9781496826688
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496826633.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations ...
More
Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations compete for authenticity. Was Delany militant, anti-establishment, dogmatic and uncompromising; or, was he pragmatic, utilitarian, accommodating, and open to compromise when necessary? Could Delany have been a combination of some or all of these attributes? The documents show that he was not averse to reaching out across the racial and ideological divides to explore diverse political and social reforms strategies with political opponents, including erstwhile oppressors of his race (former slaveholders). They provide clarity to, and contextualize the “dualities” and ambiguities of his life and struggles, thereby enabling enhanced and informed understanding of the essential pragmatism and utilitarian underpinnings of his thought. Delany was a complex individual who defied ideological, political, and racial compartmentalization; always driven by considerations of what his reason and conscience dictated would best serve the interests of his race; even if it meant cooperating with former political adversaries. The documents also reveal a man who could at once appear unyielding in furtherance and defense of the interests of blacks, and yet not opposed to making concessions; a utilitarian and a pragmatist who when circumstances demanded, could be politically and ideologically resolute and dogmatic. The book highlights the ideological and political twists and turns of his Civil War and Reconstruction career and how these both endeared him to, and alienated him from, constituencies on both sides of the political and racial divides.Less
Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations compete for authenticity. Was Delany militant, anti-establishment, dogmatic and uncompromising; or, was he pragmatic, utilitarian, accommodating, and open to compromise when necessary? Could Delany have been a combination of some or all of these attributes? The documents show that he was not averse to reaching out across the racial and ideological divides to explore diverse political and social reforms strategies with political opponents, including erstwhile oppressors of his race (former slaveholders). They provide clarity to, and contextualize the “dualities” and ambiguities of his life and struggles, thereby enabling enhanced and informed understanding of the essential pragmatism and utilitarian underpinnings of his thought. Delany was a complex individual who defied ideological, political, and racial compartmentalization; always driven by considerations of what his reason and conscience dictated would best serve the interests of his race; even if it meant cooperating with former political adversaries. The documents also reveal a man who could at once appear unyielding in furtherance and defense of the interests of blacks, and yet not opposed to making concessions; a utilitarian and a pragmatist who when circumstances demanded, could be politically and ideologically resolute and dogmatic. The book highlights the ideological and political twists and turns of his Civil War and Reconstruction career and how these both endeared him to, and alienated him from, constituencies on both sides of the political and racial divides.
The Music of the Netherlands Antilles
Black and Brown Planets
Race and the Obama Phenomenon
Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance
The Origins of Comics
Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial Representation
The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi
The Crime Films of Anthony Mann
Drawing from Life
